Dictionary

Ritter disease See staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome.

river blindness A disease caused by a parasitic worm (Onchocerca volvulus) that is transmitted by biting blackflies that breed in fast-flowing rivers. The adult worms can live for up to 15 years in nodules beneath the skin and in the muscles of infected persons, where they produce millions of worm embryos (microfilariae) that invade the…

RLL Right lower lobe, the lower-right lobe of the lung.

RLQ Right lower quadrant, the lower-right quarter of the abdomen.

RML Right middle lobe, the middle-right lobe of the lung.

RMSF Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

RN Registered nurse. See nurse, registered.

RNA Ribonucleic acid.

RNA, messenger See messenger RNA.

RNA, ribosomal A component of ribosomes that functions as a nonspecific site for making polypeptides. Abbreviated rRNA. See also ribosome.

RNA, transfer The form of the biochemical ribonucleic acid that brings (transfers) activated amino acids into position along the messenger RNA template. Abbreviated tRNA.

RNA editing The process by which messenger RNA (mRNA) is modified (edited) after it is synthesized before it is translated into protein.